Landscape Management, February 2010

WHITSWORLD MARTY WHITFORD EDITOR IN CHIEF Lets not re enact Lord of the Flies LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET FEBRUARY 2010 52 Contact Marty at 216 706 3766 or via email mwhitford@ questex com PHOTOILLUSTRATION BY ISTOCK INTERNATIONAL INC E ver read Lord of the Flies or seen one of the two fl icks based on the novel I only ask because some within the Green Industry have forgotten the books golden message In the allegorical novel by Nobel Prize winning author William Golding a group of British schoolboys descend into savagery after being marooned on a deserted island Its a lesson on the scary de evolution that occurs when we allow our God given basic survival instincts to go awry It appears some among us are re enacting Lord of the Flies In a recent online survey conducted by Landscape Management lowball bids tied the recession as contractors top threats One of these threats we can do something about Ill give you a hint Its not the economy We must band together and refuse to participate in the markdown madness infecting lawn care landscape maintenance design build and irrigation contractors Margins are tight enough After paying direct costs and general and administrative expenses 10 profi t actually is considered a good margin for many in our business Whether youre a national company a regional player or a one man mowing operation started last summer after you were laid off theres zero margin for mindless markdowns When working on bids remember Price is important but its not everything In fact several studies have shown price isnt even the No 1 thing on most consumers minds when selecting landscape contractors A lot has changed but world class service still rules in 2010 Ensure all of your proposals look professional Include rock solid testimonials with captivating before and after site photographs and tailor each pitch to the prospects stated and observed service needs Of course we cant honestly blame all of our pricing problems on lowballing competitors Some of us do a fi ne job undermining ourselves Whether its out of fear greed inexperience and or ignorance too many in our industry are undervaluing and underselling themselves and it could haunt us for years Theres more than enough business out there for the taking We need to give consumers 101 reasons to not do it themselves when it comes to maintaining their lawns and landscapes We also need to sell and deliver true value and start charging appropriately for it on every job for everyones sake Theres margin for markup even in this economy Think about it Some coffee shops pay less than 5 cents for the beans they use to make one cup of java but they charge consumers up to 100 times that and most of us dont blink an eye Its time for us to wake up get off the island and sell the coffee The alternative Lord of the Flies Landscape Edition is no way to live Any business we win today based solely or even primarily on price can be lost just as quickly tomorrow to another lowballer As famous writer Stanislaw Lem once said Cannibals prefer those who have no spines To win in the long term our industry must think outside the low price box

View the Covers and the Table of Contents pages from every issue of this publication, all gathered together for easy browsing. Just flip pages and zoom as you normally do to see each issue's Cover and Table of Contents, then follow links directly to interesting content.